In June of this year, Portmore welcomed one of Kingston’s most popular yogurt franchises, Tutti Frutti. Its prime location in the newly developed Sovereign Village has been attracting lots of hungry patrons who stop in for a bite after doing their shopping.

According to Peter Azar, who manages the operation, the move to Portmore was an obvious step. “The decision to open in Portmore was simply from knowing the demand in Portmore for Tutti, because a lot of customers were travelling in from Portmore to have Tutti. This new mall presented a great opportunity, because it [was a perfect] fit with the Tutti Frutti look and design.”

With three stores already operating in Kingston, another in Montego Bay, and more than 75 employees, the franchise is expanding well, especially with the addition of Portmore.

“Portmore is supporting us really well, which we don’t take for granted. We appreciate every customer,” he continued.

The freshness of his product and great customer service are paramount to Azar, and he has made it clear that this is what sets his yogurt brand apart from other local frozen yogurt brands.

“The competition in Portmore really does not do things the Tutti Frutti way. We put great emphasis on making fresh yogurt every day and concentrating on quality, quality, quality. Our taste and yogurt quality is really something we are very proud of. Tutti Frutti is not a generic mix. It’s now the leading Fro Yo brand worldwide, with over 1,200 self-serve stores. Their formulas are simply delicious,” he stated proudly.

Their main competition is Fruitalicious Yogurt which has two stores: one in the mall adjacent to Sovereign Village, and another in Mandeville.

“We opened six stores in five years, so that’s an achievement, I think,” said Azar. “And I think our customer service is second to none in the industry. We have had minimal problems over a five-year stretch, but more importantly, when we do have them, they are treated with urgency and the customer issue is treated as paramount.

“We really understand from just our core values that the customer makes us who we are. No matter how good the yogurt tastes and how beautiful the store is, that customer who came into our store had the option to go into many other stores. So we are thankful and grateful to the customer, and we need to treat that customer as they should be treated…with great respect.”

Though it’s not set in stone, they are now considering opening other stores. “We are thinking of opening in Savanna-la-Mar and Mandeville, but there are no definite plans yet.”

Their best-selling flavours are Birthday Cake for kids and Rum Cream for adults – with other popular flavours including tiramisu, cheesecake, and lychee.

Tutti Frutti is a franchise of the American Tutti Frutti chain, which is the “largest self-serve frozen yogurt brand in the world!” according to the website. The Jamaican franchise is its 25th store worldwide.

“We are just trying to produce a top-quality product with consistency, and serve people in a top-quality first-world way,” declared Azar.